Improvement in holders for lead-pencils



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORESTES CLEVELAND, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

.IMPROVEMENT IN HOLDERS FOR LEAD-PENQILS.

Specification forming part-of Letters Patent No. 208,154, datedSeptember 17, 1878 application filed March 1, 1878. V

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ORESTES CLEVELAND, of Jersey City, Hudson county,State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Holders forLead-Pencils, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to cases or holders for lead pencils,pen-holders, crayons, and like articles, such as require to be packed orassociated together for sale or use.

It consists in a holder of peculiar construction, in which a number ofpencils may be compactly stored or held without interfering one withanother, and from which one or more of said articles may be removed foruse or sale without disturbing the position of the rest, all of whichwill be particularly hereinafter described.

Examples of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a holder provided with a cover, soas to form a box. Fig. 2 is an end elevation, showing said box open;Fig. 3, a similar view, showing the box as closed. Fig. 4 is across-section of the box as closed, and Fig. 5 shows a modification ofthe invention.

The mainv feature of the invention is the holder 5, provided withgrooves 6 and divisionribs'7. This holder is preferably constructed froma block of wood of such dimensions as adapt it to have a number ofparallel longitudinal grooves, 6, formed in it by planing, thusproviding the division ribs 7, which grooves are made deep enough andotherwise of such dimensions as will adapt them to receive and supportthe pencils or similar articles designed to be held in them. If the penoils are round, the grooves will be semicircular if polygonal, then thegrooves will be of such shape as to suit that form. These grooves 6 areclosed transversely at proper points by means of stops, as 8, which areshort pieces of wood of a form adapted to fit into the said grooves, andas these stops are to be permanently fixed in place they will be securedby glue or other common fastening means, and, though they need notextend higher than the sides of the holder, they will preferably conformin height with that which the pencil has when placed in the grooves 6,in order to form therewith a symmetrical appearance when the holder isfilled with pencils.

The holder may be in length equal to that of .a number of pencils, andbe provided widthwise with the grooves 6 for a considerable nu mber ofpencils--say one or two dozenand, no matter what numberof intermediatestops 8 it may have, its ends will be provided therewith, as in Fig. 1,to afford a proper finish to the article.

Thus constructed the holder will be provided with grooves 6, in whichthe pencils'will snugly fit and rest and with ribs 7 and stops '8, whichefi'ectually separate them one' from another, and enable the user orseller to temporarily or permanently remove'any individual one or manyof the pencils without disturbing the rest.

In the embodiment of this invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of thedrawings, this holder 5 is provided with four parallel longitudinalgrooves, 6, and is of a width suited to receive four pencils placed sideby side therein. The

. ends of these grooves6 are supplied with stops 8, which are of aheight equal to'that of the pencils 1 2 3 4, thus finishing the ends ofthe holder. This holder 5 is furthermore provided with a cover, 10,which is a counterpart of the holder itself, except that it isunprovided with the stops 8; but, while these stops 8 are'so shaped thattheir upper portions will fit into the grooves 9 in the said cover, theymight be divided and each half of them be securedrespeetively in thegrooves in the holder and cover, as is indicated by the dotted lines,Fig.3, thus forming, in connection with the extremities of the ribs 711, a straight surface at the ends of both the holder and cover.

It is obvious that whether the stops 8 conform in size and shape withthe end, of the pencil and are secured in the grooves of the holder, asin Fig. 2, or are divided and have one part secured in the grooves ofthe holder and one part secured in the grooves of the cover, as in Fig.3, dotted lines, the said grooves 9 in the cover will, since they fitover the pencils supported in the grooves 6 in the holder, secure thecover in place upon the holder against any lateral displacement; andthat by providing a pin, as 12, carried by the cover and extending intoa hole in the holder, as in Fig. 5, any longitudinal displacement of theparts will be prevented. This may also be done by cutting away a part ofone of the stops at each end and providing projections upon the cover toabut against the same when the coveris in its closed position; but bypreference the sides of the cover and holder will be provided with ahinge at the back, as shown, and the sides at the front will be providedwith a common means for locking them together when closed, as by hooksand pins, as shown.

It is furthermore apparent that these holders may be made in nests, soas to be adjusted one upon another to any extent. Thus, in a holderadapted to hold a dozen pencils, as in Fig. 5, the upper and lowermembers, 10 5, correspond with those similarly marked 10 5 in the otherfigures, while the intervening members, as 20 21, will be counterpartsof each other, and will differ from the members 10 5 only in having thegrooves, as 6 or 9, duplicated on their opposite faces. These members 105 may be hinged together, as has been described with reference to theform shown in Figs. 1 to 4, or may be provided with the pins 12 toprevent longitudinal. displacement, as already described, and inaddition may be supplied with small handles at their ends, by which theymay be lifted one from the other. This form of the device will beespecially desirable when the holder is designed to contain a largequantity of pencils, as for exposition in a store, the holder in thatcase, or when arranged to hold a smaller quantity, being adapted tocontain in its upper section the hard grades, in its central section themedium grades, and in its lower section the soft grades, whicharrangement will be convenient either for use by draftsmen or salesmen.This holder, though particularly described as a pencil-case, is to beunderstood as being capable of use for pen-holders, crayons, and similararticles of desk-furniture or writing-instruments, its dimensions andthe shape of its parts being changed to suit the article.

The members of the holder are of such construction that theymay berapidly and cheaply produced by machinery, since long wooden blocks orstrips may have the grooves formed in them by the well-known process ofplaning, the cutters of the plane being suited to out out as manygrooves side by side as may be desired while the wood is passing oncethrough the machine. I

When these holders are made of cedar or other aromatic wood it ispreferable that the stops 8 shall not entirely fill the grooves 9 in thecover 10 and corresponding parts of the sections shown in Fig. 5, theobject being to afford the air free access to the interior, in order todestroy the oil which, exuding from such woods, will injure the finishof the pencils or other articles but this is not essential.

Other materials than wood may be used without departing from the gist ofthis invention, as papier-mach and the like.

What is claimed is 1. A holder for pencils having a number of parallellongitudinal grooves, as 6, and stops, as 8, secured in said grooves,substantially as described.

2. A box composed of the grooved holder 5 and cover 10, said membersbeing counterparts of each other, and the former provided with. thestops 8, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the pin or pins 12 wit-h the grooved holder andcover and stops 8, substantially as described.-

4. The combination of the grooved holder 5 and cover 10 with one or moreintervening members, as 20 21, said parts being provided with stops 8and with hinges or means for lit'ting them, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ORESTES CLEVELAND.

lVitnesses:

HENRY T. 1\IUNSON, GEO. H. GRAHAM.

